User blog:L1242092/Guide to Stick Bug Challenge
Below are some tips and strategies I've come up with in my time of playing the Stick Bug Challenge. I feel qualified to speak on this topic as one of the few people who have a gold amulet, or better. Important Details * Vicious Bee is crucial to doing any significant amount of damage to Stick Bug, as Impale can do hundreds or thousands of damage per spike. If you don't have Vicious Bee, ignore the rest of this guide and go get Vicious Bee. ** As each player can only have one Vicious Bee in their hive, there is strength in numbers. Unless you are fighting at levels higher than the bees in your swarm are, the more players with Vicious Bee you can play with, the better. ** Making Vicious Bee gifted gives it +50% attack, which also makes Impale stronger. * Defensive totems can slow down the fight in a significant way. Eliminating them ASAP is crucial for going far. Teams of players that selfishly try to score as much damage as possible by always being in the same field as Stick Bug will lose out on damage in the long run. * Using gliding tools and cannons will help move from location to location faster. Preparation * Load up on as many attack bonuses as you have available on amulets or accessories. Have several Rage and Focus-generating bees. * Kill off all mobs in fields that you plan on passing through to avoid having your bees preoccupied with them instead of Stick Bug or nymphs. Base Grounds and mid-level fields are a must, but all fields with mobs could potentially be entered, so killing all mobs is justified. Ladybugs and Rhino Beetles will respawn before the fight is over, but having them out of the way for the first few levels can be helpful. ** Snail especially should go down if you plan on destroying totems in Stump Field. * Place down Sprinklers in fields where totems spawn to help those who are breaking totems to keep gathering pollen. * Oil is not necessary, but likely the most helpful consumable for the whole fight, allowing you and your bees to quickly go from place to place and chase enemies. Glue may be helpful if you plan on knocking down totems. Stingers are an expensive luxury and not recommended except past the five-minute mark. Strategy The bulk of gameplay involves standing close enough to the Stick Bug for your bees to attack it instead of anything else around while avoiding damage from all the surrounding threats. Maximizing Score * When it is defeated, get to the next field where it spawns as quickly as possible. * When a totem is spawned, wait until your next Impale token spawns. Take it, then head to the defensive totem and destroy it. ** If you are coordinating as a team, some players may be designated as constant attackers and others as constant totem breakers. If so, when Stick Bug goes underground, attackers should avoid raising Stick Bug too soon, or it may spawn more totems faster than breakers can deal with. * Read where Stick Bug is moving and try to intercept it while remaining out of its path. * When there is less than two minutes left, ignore all new totems unless they are in an adjacent, high-yield field (Stump when in Pineapple, Pine Tree when in Cactus or Pumpkin, Rose when in Sunflower or Strawberry) and you are in a large team. They will take too long to bring down and cost more damage to have someone leave to break them than to have them continue attacking Stick Bug. ** When there is less than one minute left, ignore all totems regardless. * If you are using stingers, maximize their impact by using them just prior to picking up Impale. This way, one stinger may last long enough to use two Impale tokens. Maximizing Rewards (This is assuming that you are comfortable with the end-of-challenge reward and would like to maximize rewards from elsewhere in the challenge.) * Stick Nymphs are excellent sources of Gumdrops. * Stick Bug, when defeated, always drops a single Royal Jelly token worth multiple jellies. Oil and Enzymes may also be dropped, but rarely. Other treats and honey are not dropped in significant amounts, but could still be collected easily by following the circle pattern. * Defensive totems are poor sources for anything, lacking any rare reward and only singles of treats. Tips * Do not use Impale frivolously - it is your main source of damage. If Stick Bug is out of range, if there are too many nymphs or other mobs around for spikes to reliably hit Stick Bug, or if Stick Bug is very near defeat, avoid Impale and any Token Link tokens. Wait until the next good opportunity to use Impale when it can hit for the most damage. ** If Stick Bug is too far from the token, use a Token Link closer to Stick Bug, or wait until it walks closer to the token. ** If there are many other mobs around, eliminate as many of them as possible so that most of your spikes hit Stick Bug. ** If Stick Bug is near defeat and you think you can get to the next field in time, follow it to the next field and activate Impale from there with a Token Link token. * On Mountain Top Field, nymphs can be drawn off the mountain by standing on the Instant Converter and letting them fall through the crack between the terrain. This strategy is more useful during later levels or in smaller groups, when nymphs are much harder to dispatch. * When Stick Bug is very near defeat, you can start moving to the next field where you think it will go as your bees finish of its remaining health. This can put you out of range of the roots and let you intercept Stick Bug when it lands in the next location. Because of the multiple locations where Stick Bug can go, this can involve some guesswork, but in some cases, going in the wrong direction may be less harmful than being stuck with roots. ** For example, when in Pineapple Patch, climb the ramp towards Yellow Cannon. If Stick Bug moves to Mountain Top Field, use the cannon. If it moves to Bamboo Field, jump off the ramp and over the fence to reach it. ** When in Bamboo Field, climb the ramp towards Pineapple Patch up to the U-bend. If it goes to Pineapple Patch, continue upwards. If it goes to Clover Field, glide across. Category:Blog posts